Good thing I went with the color version of the strip today. These fair-haired women with prop glasses are all starting to look alike. Today it’s Ms. Rizk, not Dr. Pearl; we know this as Gil is the summoner, not the summoned. (Not that it’s clear Dr. Pearl summoned Gil but, you know, pecking order and all.)

Ever since the Central game the strip has been playing a huge game of connect-the-dots. Great leaps ever forward – from Kaz’s near telepathic understanding of what Gil wants to Gil’s visit to the Van Aukens to Gil’s chat with Dr. Pearl to today – with a lot of gaps to fill. Is it clear that Gil spoke with Ryan at his home? (The “genuinely remorseful” comment to Dr. Pearl might lead us to believe he did.) Whether he did or didn’t, what prompted Gil to speak with Dr. Pearl next? (To get the green light from the Doctor to lean on Ms. Rizk to quash Daftpunk’s article?)

And now, what leads Ms. Rizk to add the “unfortunately” tag to her statement implying that Dafunk’s article has already been quashed? Is it meant for us to deduce that, even though she’s been against Daffy’s hit piece on the ‘Cane from the get-go, she secretly wants to run the article? As our astute readers commented yesterday, this spring arc has turned into another of Rubin’s classic Bechdel Test fails. Girls’ sports have taken a back seat not only to boys’ sports but also to high school journalism which, by maintaining its integrity, may end up protecting a male athlete at the expense of his female victim and accusers. Ms. Rizk’s “unfortunately” may be her subtle form of protest against the Milford jockocracy.

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This is just a freaking disaster of a plot. Sure, school newspapers aren’t scandal factories, and privacy laws alone would have killed Dafne’s story long ago. But c’mon folks, we live in an age of Baylor and Penn State and the Michigan State doctor who turned out to be diddling gymnasts for a couple of decades. Common theme: Authorities quashing stories and victims being dismissed out of hand. Exactly what’s happening here, thanks to Our Hero Gil Thorp.

This storyline just sends so many bad messages. Please, Rubin, put an end to this and let’s have a nice diverting summer story. I yearn for the days of Gail Martin.

I’m with John S, with this amendment. The abuse scandals he mentions involved adults preying on minors. Here we have a minor under an unclear and perhaps false accusation, and that distinction changes things. The last thing we want to do is dismiss victims, but here we don’t even know if there was a real victim. And neither can we dismiss the possibility than Ryan is a victim himself, as his parents allege. Unfortunately, I do see an opening here for a return to the insanity of that “reality show” plot, with a school paper doing something no real school paper would dream of. What a mess…

teenchy, funny you should mention the “I Sing The Body Electric” overtones in today’s strip. It’s like they charge up Dr. Pearl when Gil is trying to clear the Volcano’s name, then they unplug her and put her in storage until Gil makes a friendly visit to the Journalism class, at which the batteries are locked back in place, a few crow’s feet are removed and-voila!!!-Ms. Risk shows up on the scene.
And the Star Trek analogy extends to our virtual Dutch twins. It’s like they’re in each other’s body, like that ST episode where Captain Kirk and the villain exchange bodies. So if there’s occasional confusion over whether that’s Ms. Risk…

Jive Turkey, you hit the nail on the head. NOBODY walks out on practice or a game on a whim except, of course, in Thorpiverse where nothing is real. Gotta check out some property for lease during bunting drills? Just close the gate. Everything’s 50% off at Kohl’s? Leave a couple of coupons behind. And if you’re hung over from the night before and you’re rundown while practicing rundown situations, you can meld into those generic trees that always grace the background, assured that down the road, the Thorpiverse script will call upon you eventually to belt an opposite-field double to drive in the winning run. Wow, if you’re playing the lottery, you could cash in and show up in the photo gallery at the 7-11 of all the lottery winners. All because you left when you durn well pleased.